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At the first Democratic Town Hall meeting of 2016, I heard Secretary Clinton discuss a wide range of important topics. I was impressed with her poise, sense of humor, interaction with audience members and her depth of understanding of complex issues. Later that evening, while talking with others, I realized how much studying Secretary Clinton has done on a variety of complex topics, like ISIS, drug use, gun control, and caring about the disenfranchised. I also realized how her vast experience in local, state, federal and international government has helped her understand these issues enough to help us understand them. Coupled with here sense of humor and levelheadedness, these observations reinforced by admiration for her as a candidate.

Other female attendees at the Town Meeting, from ages 12 to 92, mirrored by own admiration of Mrs. Clinton's dedication to a life of service. The younger women spoke about what a good role model Mrs. Clinton has been to them since birth; older women remarked on Mrs. Clinton's ease of speaking clearly and in depth about a wide range of difficult issues.

Sadly, I watched WMUR coverage the morning after the Town Meeting in Concord and the only coverage she got was her reaction to the Republican representative who tried to interrupt the flow of energy at an earlier meeting. Although the media thrives on controversy to gain viewership, I was saddened that someone so gifted, and who had presented such a stellar analysis of world issues that same day, had been so downplayed over such an inconsequential moment. This is a sad commentary on how we are given information about candidates. At this crucial time in history, if we reduce someone of such depth and understanding to one moment of shallow reporting, we are cheating ourselves out of the intelligent kind of candidate who can work for us to make things better for everyone.

Some candidates alarm me with their inflammatory rhetoric. We need someone who understands the complexities of a fragile world and who will work hard to make it a safer and better place. Mrs. Clinton's consistent, intelligent, in-depth understanding of complex issues will be invaluable for an in-coming president.

Demographically, New Hampshire is an independent state. A large majority of voters — 44 percent — call themselves unaffiliated and until the primary next month are likely to remain independent of the Republicans and Democrats. We are just shy of the national average of 45 percent independents. Yet our Congressional delegation is split evenly and regularly cancels itself out. Neither side represents those of us in the "middle." We need candidates — and a president — from the middle.

Former Senator Jim Webb is the most qualified candidate to be president and commander-in-chief of the United States. A decorated war hero from his military service in Vietnam as a Marine, his time in the Pentagon, Navy secretary under Ronald Reagan, and United States senator has granted him a solid foreign policy background.

Jim Webb has shown himself as one who will unite and not divide. Webb has and can cross that aisle in Washington, and he has worked successfully with members of both parties. Perhaps gridlock in Congress can be overcome and things get accomplished from a positive example set in a Webb administration.

As an avid reader, I appreciate that Senator Webb is a published author of fiction and non-fiction, history, current affairs, as well as an Emmy award winning journalist. Yet when I talk to friends and family about why I support Jim Webb for president, I find name recognition to be the biggest obstacle and I blame that on a biased media and political machine that anoints candidates quite similarly to the schemes of a century ago.

Some commentators and bloggers called the Senator "obtuse" or "petulant" after his last Democratic debate. Point in fact, what he tried to do was make note of a lack of speaking time to present his case to the American voters. He has always occurred like someone who is ready to act or speak up when pressured. But as Senator he proved himself to be proactive as well with legislation to create the new G.I. Bill and to implement prison reform. As an stand-out Naval Academy boxer, he'll come out swinging if necessary. His actions could be seen as assertive or aggressive — which tells me he won't back down when our country is threatened, nor will he appease anyone if it comes under attack again.

As a centrist who grew up Republican, I can readily relate to the feelings Webb expressed at the last press conference when he dropped out of the race for the Democratic nomination. He talked about feeling like a Republican in a room full of Democrats and vice versa. And yet he left the Republican Party in the late 1980s for the Democratic when he felt that the GOP lost its connection to its progressive history. Many — including myself — are eagerly awaiting his entry into the presidential race as an independent and are actively encouraging him to do so.

It seems the conservative Democrats and liberal Republicans of the past have all gone extinct or at the very least switched parties. No one thinks exactly like Hillary Clinton, Bernie Sanders, Ted Cruz, or Donald Trump. Does anyone adhere to or agree with a party platform word-for-word?

David Lloyd George once said, "A politician is a person with whose politics you don't agree; if you agree with him he's a statesman." New Hampshirite James Freeman Clarke once said, "A politician thinks of the next election. A statesman, of the next generation." Well, a statesman in the truest sense of the word not seen since the days of Adlai Stevenson, Jim Webb possesses a strong sense of history and a deep appreciation for tradition. Good qualities that have been lacking for too long among the leadership of this state and this country. The disenfranchised and disenchanted will again have a champion.